Lessons
by D-Channerz
Summary: A scene from Gaiden. Goku learns how to read.


Title: Lessons  
  
Rating: PG - (for language)  
  
Warnings: Um... OOCness?  
  
A/N: Birthday fic for my best friend. I started out with a totally different idea, and then it... um... changed. That happens a lot. Anyway, this is short and somewhat cliché... But it'd be nice if you'd leave a review anyway! Sankyuu!  
  
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The guards spoke in hushed voices as Konzen Douji trudged down the hall. His usual expression of bitter indifference was replaced by one of utter annoyance as he walked- er... stomped past. All those that knew him well were beginning to notice this particular facial expression more often however, due to some certain circumstances...   
  
"Where is that idiot?!" He hissed, turning his head this way and that in search of his present 'circumstance'. He could have sworn he had just seen him only an hour before, running around in the courtyard, and then he had simply vanished. Of course, knowing that boy, he could run from one side of heaven to the other in a few minutes just as fast. That is, if heaven actually had such boundaries, anyway. And, if Konzen was crazy enough to let him run off like that. Then again... As he watched passersby scurry to get out of his way, he realized he'd made that very mistake the moment he had turned his back to do paperwork.   
  
_Damn saru... I'm gonna kill him._  
  
Konzen turned into several more hallways, frightening everyone else out of their minds by slamming doors and swearing up a storm. Another hour or so later, he finally found himself standing outside the doors to Tenpou Gensui's room, almost at his wits end as he threw open the door.   
  
A lofty silence greeted him at first. And then he heard the soft sound of pages being turned.   
  
"Tenpou?" Konzen called out, looking among the huge stacks and piles of books. "Where are you?"   
  
"Ah, you've come to visit?" Tenpou peeked his head out from behind a stack. He smiled sunnily. Konzen just glared.   
  
"The brat. I'm looking for the brat!"   
  
The man across from him looked a bit confused as he reached up to touch his glasses. "You mean Goku?"   
  
"Are there any other brats I would come looking for?!"   
  
"Hah. No, I suppose not." His eyes sparkled as he set down his book and walked towards him. "He was in here a few minutes ago, looking for something to do. So I gave him a book."   
  
Konzen's eye twitched. "A book?" He knew damn well the boy couldn't read very well, so it had to be some kiddie manga or something. He hadn't even known that Tenpou carried such things in his room, but it wasn't like it was any of his business.   
  
"Yes, a book. I told him to go to you if he wanted to find out what the words meant. I promised him I'd give him one with more pictures next time if he came back and read it to me."   
  
The blonde god stared at him. _Dammit…_   
  
Tenpou seemed to sense his distress and merely chuckled and waved him away, reminding him that he really should go back to searching if he intended on finding Goku before something really serious happened. He emphasized the word 'serious', grinning smugly. Konzen walked out stiffly, feeling more uneasy than angry.   
  
It wasn't as if the child didn't talk enough already. If he learned to read, there would be a lot more at stake. Konzen's sanity, for one. He knew that Goku was fascinated by the written word, sometimes rifling through the god's papers (much to his dismay and irritation) just so he could try to make out the letters himself. It never worked all the way for him, but he liked to look at them and try to copy them in his own messy scrawl. And Konzen didn't _mind_, really, as long as he did it without asking a million questions… which is what Goku tended to do anyway, with any given situation.   
  
So, he continued on through the palace with his eye twitching sporadically and a spliting headache to boot. If any onlookers weren't scared before, they were now.   
  
And then, he arrived right back where he had started his search, right in front of his own office. If he wasn't in here, Konzen would give up and wait for Goku to come find him on his own. That would at least give him some time to let himself cool down before he could beat the boy senseless. Opening the doors, he was surprised to see that Goku was indeed inside, sitting in Konzen's chair and looking down at something in his lap. He was _quietly_ "reading". Konzen almost didn't want to say anything to disturb the blissful silence, something he had become accustomed to_ not_ having- **ever**.   
  
"Goku."   
  
The child looked up and smiled sweetly, seemingly unaware of the virtual steam coming out of his owner's ears. "Oi! Konzen! Look what Ten-chan gave me!" He held up the ominous book, waving it in circles above his head. "You gotta read it to me, okay?"   
  
_Idiot!_ He ground his teeth together and walked gracefully over to the desk. He slammed his palms down on the surface, amethyst eyes ablaze as he leaned forward to glower dangerously at him. "Just what the hell were you thinking running off like that? How many times do I have to tell you to stay close?! You think you can just run off and not expect me to come looking for you?!"  
  
Goku blinked up at him, umoved by the god's ranting and raving. "It was boring! Come on, are you gonna read to me? Onegai, Konzen, onegai!"   
  
Konzen hung his head, face flushed with anger. He knew it was futile to argue with him. It was as if the kid had no clue how much of a pain in the ass he could be sometimes. No, scratch that, MOST of the time. He wanted to smack him for putting him through all that just for some stupid book, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do it. Especially with Goku staring up at him like that. He was going soft, and he knew it.   
  
_Dammit!_  
  
It grew quiet, and Goku pouted, pushing the book toward his master with a noise of impatience. He'd been waiting for the man for a long time now, and he was getting tired of staring at the words. Konzen said nothing and merely snatched the book off the desk to flip through the pages. It was a normal, ordinary book, but not something you'd give a **little **kid. Besides the one or two illustrations here and there, it was solid text. He knew that must have been frustrating for the boy, but he still seemed determined to figure out what it all meant. Goku was smart- when he wanted to be -so maybe if he just read a few sentences... maybe even a paragraph or two...   
  
"Get out of my chair, baka."   
  
The child immediately obeyed, his golden eyes glittering in adoration. Konzen sat down with a heavy sigh, and Goku crawled into his lap and waited. The position was slightly awkward, but not too uncomfortable. Goku didn't seem to mind it anyway. Konzen forced his gaze on the book, giving it to Goku to hold so he could read it from above.   
  
"Once upon a time..."   
  
"Once upon a time." Goku repeated, beaming. "I KNEW that's what it said! I've seen that other places too!"   
  
Konzen nodded and quieted him so he could continue.   
  
-----   
  
A few hours later, Tenpou was still in his room reading when his door came flying open again and he was graced with yet another visitor. It was Kenren Taisho, sporting a rather amused expression. That happened often, but today he seemed to be a bit fidgety.   
  
"Did you need something?" Tenpou asked, smiling too and wondering what was going on this time. He figured the man had done something reckless again and he needed somewhere to hide for a little while. That also happened rather often, now that he thought about it. Not that he minded much. There were always shelves that needed dusting and books that needed organizing, after all...   
  
"You have to come see this. It's Konzen and the chibi. The funniest thing..."   
  
Tenpou stood, setting down his half-finished cigarette. "Oh, he found him finally? Hopefully he's in a better mood then."   
  
"You'd _think_ that... Come on."   
  
Kenren led him to the courtyard. He pointed to both Konzen and Goku standing by the fountain. Goku had the book from earlier in his hands and he was staring down at the words in deep concentration.   
  
"Say it again." Tenpou heard Konzen say, arms folded across his chest as he waited. Goku looked up, nodded, and said something he couldn't hear. It earned him a smack over the head.   
  
"Itai! What did I do wrong?!"   
  
"Try it again. It's not that hard, saru..."   
  
"But it's a really big word!"   
  
"Try it again!"   
  
And he did. Tenpou strained his ears to hear what the word was. Kenren was too busy laughing behind his hand to listen. A few minutes later, Goku read something else. A sentence this time. Konzen nodded slowly and reached for the book.   
  
"Did I get it right?" Goku asked, the hope in voice causing both Tenpou and Kenren to smile slightly. When Konzen nodded at him again, he cheered. "Sugoi! Wait until Ten-chan hears this!"   
There was a pause, and then he turned back to Konzen with an eager expression. "Read some more, ne Konzen?" He bounced up and down, his shackles rattling with him.  
  
Tenpou watched the blonde god attempt to hold back his smile. It failed, naturally, and he opened the book again. Kenren glanced at Tenpou and smirked.  
  
"You planned this, didn't you? Sneaky bastard..."  
  
"Not all of it." Tenpou said with a grin, and turned to walk away. "I suppose I better go find some more books... ne?"  
  
---Owari---  
  
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**NOTES:**  
  
- Tenpou says in chapter 6 of Gaiden that Goku has started to master the basics of reading and writing. I wrote this assuming that he knows enough to make out certain things, but he can't really understand what all the words mean and such. So he can't really "read" per say, but he's not totally illiterate. Does that make sense? Probably not. Ah well...  
  
-I think everyone's OOC. Particularly Kenren... x.x Gomen nasai...  
  
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Hope you enjoyed it! Review? Onegai? 


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